"Sir, Mr. Zhang is back." Xu Tong's chief attendant got the news and hurried over to report.
Xu Tong was sitting under the eaves, with a recliner under him and his body leaning on the back of the chair. He was covered with a fur blanket. Next to him was a small square table with a purple clay pot and a plate of preserved fruits on it. The purple clay pot Steam was still coming out of the spout.
"It seems that things went smoothly." Xu Tong picked up the purple clay pot and took a sip of the tea inside.
The chief attendant smiled and said: "It is said that Tiger Flag is a group of vicious people, but it depends on who he meets. If he meets you, no matter how fierce he is, it will be useless. In the end, he will be dealt with by you."
"Haha, that's good." Xu Tong said with a proud smile, "There is some kind of Dongshan iron yard in Lingqiu under Tiger Character Banner. You can go over and be a steward later."
"Thank you, sir." Chang Sui hurriedly knelt down and saluted.
"Get up." Xu Tong said, and then added, "As long as you serve me faithfully, I will benefit from you."
Chang Sui quickly expressed his position: "I am willing to go through fire and water for my master, no matter what."
"Okay, okay, I say these two sentences every time, sir, my ears are ringing." Xu Tong waved his hand impatiently and said, "When Mr. Zhang arrives, ask him to come directly to see me. "
"Yes." Chang Sui agreed and retreated.
Under the eaves, there was sunlight shining from outside, and it happened to shine on him. Xu Tong squinted his eyes and picked up the purple clay pot from time to time to take a sip.
About half the time it took to burn the incense, Zhang Wenhe came to the yard.
After seeing Xu Tong, he bowed and saluted and said, "Student has seen the military gate."
Xu Tong asked with half-closed eyes: "Has Liu Heng been arrested?"
"Not yet." Zhang Wenhe shook his head slightly and said, "After the students arrived in Lingqiu, Lingqiu County Magistrate Guo Binchang refused to summon Liu Heng. Later, he simply pretended to be ill and refused to hear the case. The students had no choice but to rush first. return.,"
Xu Tong opened his eyes, with a flash of anger, and said: "He is so brave, he is not afraid that I will take off the black gauze on his head."
While speaking, he slapped his palm on the square table beside him, and several candied fruits in the plate fell to the table.
"Junmen calm down." Zhang Wenhe handed over his hands and said immediately, "Students speculate that this Guo Binchang should have been colluding with Liu Henghang of Tiger Character Banner for a long time, and ordinary methods cannot make him submit."
Xu Tong said with a gloomy face: "Since Guo Binchang is unwilling to hear the case, why don't you arrest the person first, escort him to Datong, and let me personally hear the case."
Hearing this, Zhang Wenhe smiled bitterly and said: "Junmen, there is no one who is responsible for this case. Xu Shunping disappeared when he was in Lingqiu."
"Missing?" Xu Tong frowned.
Zhang Wenhe said: "The students sent people to look for him. Some people said that he was taken away by a man named Mr. Zheng. He has never been seen since."
Xu Tong scolded: "Trash, you can't even keep an eye on a living person. You don't know that this person is very important to our affairs. Why don't you send someone to follow him and keep an eye on him."
Zhang Wenhe lowered his head.
Xu Tong asked again: "Did you send someone to find that Master Zheng?"
"This person also disappeared." Zhang Wenhe hesitated for a moment and then said, "The student suspects that Xu Shunping has been silenced."
"You mean Liu Heng killed someone and silenced him?" Xu Tong frowned.
Zhang Wenhe nodded and said: "Since Xu Shunping disappeared, the students stayed in Lingqiu for two more days. Only then did they find out that Tiger Character Flag is different from ordinary businesses. It has a group of people who specialize in doing dirty things. , corpses floated out from time to time in the moat outside Lingqiu City, and they were all done by people from the Tiger Flag."
"You are so courageous. You actually dare to kill someone. It's so lawless." Xu Tong slapped the table top angrily.
Zhang Wenhe said: "Students speculate that Xu Shunping came to Lingqiu to sue Liu Heng and the people in Tiger Character Banner knew about it. Liu Heng sent people to kill Xu Shunping to silence him."
Xu Tong sneered and said: "I was worried that I didn't catch him, but I didn't expect him to come to the door by himself. It's okay, I will send people from Fubiao Camp to Lingqiu to arrest him now."
"Junmen, I'm afraid this is inappropriate. There is no owner of the corpse in Lingqiu moat. Even if we want to arrest him, there is no reason." Zhang Wenhe advised.
Xu Tong said coldly: "My words are the reason."
"Military Gate." Zhang Wenhe said, "This Liu Heng is different from ordinary business owners. As far as the students know, this person has deep roots in Datong. Datong officials, whether they are civil servants or military generals, rarely have any confiscated tiger characters." If you, the military sect, arrest people without any evidence, you will inevitably lead to the impeachment of these people."
"As the governor of Datong, how can I be afraid of being impeached?" Xu Tong's face sank.
Zhang Wenhe said: "Of course you are not afraid of the military sect, but when your Majesty sees these impeachment memorials, he will inevitably not think too much about it. Military sect, you must not lose a big thing for a small amount."
"This" Xu Tong frowned.
If all the people in Datong were to impeach him, the Holy Emperor would probably transfer him out of Datong out of dissatisfaction, and he would not even have the chance to sit on the governor's seat again in the future.
He had spent a lot of money to get the governor's position, but he still hasn't made it back yet. If he really loses his governor's position, it won't be that easy to be a governor in the future. He has no choice but to stay in Beijing and be idle in the future. official.
Thinking of this, Xu Tong asked: "What are your ideas?"
Zhang Wenhe said: "Liu Heng is just a white businessman. Even without Xu Shunping, if the military wants to deal with him as a white businessman, it is not as simple as crushing an ant."
"So you already have a solution?" Xu Tong asked.
Zhang Wenhe said: "Before leaving Lingqiu, the Lingqiu garrison found the students and told them that making muskets, armor, and even cannons with tiger-character flags were all prohibited by the imperial court."
"Could it be that he wants n!" Xu Tong's heart sank.
"The military gate is safe." Zhang Wenhe said, "Tiger Character Banner is just a business name, and Liu Heng is just a white businessman. It is normal to use some force to protect the caravan. I think the Lingqiu garrison must have exaggerated in order to please the military gate."
Xu Tong twirled his beard and said: "What you said makes some sense. Most of the people in the past were farmers and warriors. I have never heard of businessmen."
Zhang Wenhe continued: "Although the defense of Lingqiu is exaggerated, the Tiger-Character Banner has its own iron field, so it is inevitable that some armor will be made for its own guards. This is the opportunity for the military gate. As long as the Tiger-Character Banner is found, With the fact that the flag is used as armor, your Excellency can accuse Liu Heng'an of n and report it to the imperial court. At that time, your Majesty will not only get the tiger-shaped flag, but also receive a commendation from the imperial court, and you may not be unable to go further in the future."
"Well, what you said makes sense." Xu Tong nodded slightly, and then said, "I will send people from Fubiao Camp to follow you to Lingqiu to find evidence of Liu Hengn."
"There is no rush." Zhang Wenhe advised, "The student has just returned from Lingqiu. Liu Heng must be very wary at this time. It is better to wait until the New Year is over and Liu Heng lets down his wariness. At that time, the student will suddenly appear with troops from Fubiao Camp. Lingqiu, catch him off guard."
"Okay, I'll do as you say." Xu Tong nodded in agreement. 11
